The shuffling has concluded and the deck is set as the field for the 2017 Big West Women's Basketball Tournament has taken shape. The run to the title begins Tuesday at Walter Pyramid on the campus of Long Beach State and concludes Saturday with the championship game live on Fox Sports #PrimeTicket.

First round action starts at 6pm Tuesday, March 7 in the Pyramid as #5 UC Riverside takes on #8 UC Irvine followed by defending Tournament champion #6 Hawai'i against #7 Cal Poly at 8:30 pm. The following day, #3 CSUN and #4 UC Santa Barbara take the court as the Matadors take on the lowest remaining seed at 6:00 pm, while the Gauchos take on the highest remaining seed at 8:30 pm.

The semifinal round on Friday, March 10 will take place at Honda Center as top-seeded UC Davis will take on the lowest remaining seed from the quarterfinals at 12:00 pm. The #2 seed Long Beach State then has its turn on the court against the highest remaining seed at 2:30 pm. All games through the semifinal round will be available live on ESPN3.

The two semifinal winners will then tangle for the crown in Honda Center at 4:00 pm Saturday live on Fox #PrimeTicket hoping to book a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

AROUND THE BIG WEST

RARE FEAT
CSUN sophomore center Channon Fluker’s scoring, rebounding and blocks binge has her on the verge of one of the Big West’s most impressive stat lines. She currently leads the league in scoring (17.4), rebounding (12.0) and blocks (2.5). The only player to lead the league in all three categories was Cal State Fullerton great Genia Miller, who averaged 29.4 points, 12.3 rebounds and 4.4 blocks in the 1990-91 season.

Fluker is also just the third player in Big West history to win the Player of the Year honor a year after claiming the Freshman of the Year.

HOW ABOUT THOSE AGS?
UC Davis has won 10 in a row heading into the Tournament, the longest win streak for the Aggies in their Division I history. It is also the longest streak for the club since a 14-game run in the 1998-99 campaign.

CLEAN SWEEP
Long Beach State earned a fair share of hardware following the regular season as the senior trio of Jewelyn Sawyer won Defensive Player of the Year, Raven Benton Best Sixth Player and Anna Kim Best Hustle. It marks the first time in conference history that one school swept all three of those awards in a single season.

RITTER AND MAULUPE CLOSING IN
UC Irvine sophomore Andee Ritter and CSUN junior Serafina Maulupe both have a chance to crack into the single-season top-10 three point list. Ritter is one three-pointer shy with 82 makes from beyond the arc while Maulupe is three behind with 79. Tenth place on the list belongs to former UC Riverside great Brittany Crain who hit 83 threes just a year ago.

COACHING MILESTONES
Last week UC Davis’ Jennifer Gross won the 100th game in her career, making her the 14th coach in Big West history to reach that number. Two other coaches have a chance to reach a milestone in the final weeks of the season. Cal Poly’s Faith Mimnaugh (275) is two wins away from second place on the league’s all-time chart. UC Riverside’s John Margaritis is just one win away from becoming the fourth coach in league history with 200 career victories.

GRAND STATUS
Earlier this season, UC Riverside senior Simone DeCoud, Cal Poly senior Hannah Gilbert and Long Beach State senior Anna Kim became the 130th, 131st and 132nd members of the Big West 1,000-point club. Cal Poly earned another entrant into the list as junior Dynn Leaupepe cross the 1,000-point plateau in the final week of the regular season.

20-20-20 VISION
Long Beach State has won 20 games in each of the last three seasons, the longest string for the program since a seven-year run of 20-win seasons from 1985-86 to 1991-92.

#NUMBERS ARE COOL

2 - Consecutive Defensive Player of the Year awards for Long Beach State's Jewelyn Sawyer, the first back-to-back winner since 2005-06

3 - Big West Tournament titles for John Margaritis, the most among active coaches

14 - Big West Tournament titles by UC Santa Barbara, the most all-time